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London Entertainment Resort: All Discussion

Dave said:
... rather than a shopping mall with a few rides attached.
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Which is a large & valid concern for me too! The problem is that there is more profitability for a shopping mall (albeit with rides attached.)

I doubt we'll be seeing a 'proper' theme park as we know it, nothing like EP or even Towers. Not that it won't be 'good' being different, I just feel it will be more about spending, add-on's and merch than actual substance. Think Epcot full of BBC & film IP's. I do hope I'm wrong :)

... or just put in Tatsu, Nemesis & Maverick clones to keep us all happy.
 
I can't see it being a shopping destination as bluewater which is Europe's largest shopping centre is 2 miles away. It has a lot of the big exclusive names. Then 8 minutes on the the train you have the ugly square Westfield centre in Stratford. I really can't see this being a shopping centre with rides attached.
 
Rob said:
There is going to be a theme park! Need not worry!

:)
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Seconded.

I'm more interested in the "what" not "if" they're going to build ride wise.

Be nice to get a top quality woodie, and a big-mack! The IPs should take care of the draw without marketing gimmicks, let the hardware just be real high quality.
 
I think they well know that the draw of themed areas with rides will be a lot greater than themed areas without anything (ie. Epcot). Also, the concept art does pretty clearly show multiple coasters/rides. If it is built then I think the model will be Universal.
 
Clearly also going to be an entertainment complex not a shopping centre with a few rides... where has this idea come from anyway?

I think bars, eateries, themed shops, rides, IP areas that kind of thing - a PROPER resort feeling destination - not a few rides with a bolt on hotel. They're not daft, the BBC wouldn't sign up to a glorified shopping centre and neither would paramount pick that site in London to build it right next to two shopping centres lol!

Actually think the topics in danger of being watered down by debate about things that make no sense, aren't reflected in the marketing speak, don't reflect the area or ideals of what's been shown, the people on board etc.

This is exciting, you'd have to have monumentally incapable people in charge to make those kinds of fundamental mistakes, the BBC are so ridiculously protective of their IPs there's just no way that would happen. If it did, it would be almost laughable that so many high calibre and brands and individuals could make such a diabolical error of judgement lol!!

A glorified shopping centre this is not.
 
There are set to be 12 major rides. As long as it does all go to plan, which it seems to be at the minute, we should be very excited!

:)
 
More positive news for Paramount London:

Paramount London said:
Lafarge Tarmac signs agreement with LRCH for London Paramount Entertainment Resort

Lafarge Tarmac has signed a Binding Option Agreement with London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH) to sell land required for the delivery of the proposed London Paramount Entertainment Resort in North Kent. The land, known as Swanscombe Peninsula, covers 388 acres and was formerly the largest cement plant in the UK, Swanscombe Works, which closed in 1993.

This agreement will bring the proposed £2 billion entertainment resort “London Paramount” one step closer to being completed. This follows on from the May 2014 announcement by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to designate the project as ‘Nationally Significant’.

Cyrille Ragoucy, Chief Executive Officer at Lafarge Tarmac said:

“We take a long-term view of our landholdings from mineral extraction to development and restoration; creating jobs, supporting communities and continuing responsible environmental stewardship. We are proud to be part of this exciting project. This is a fitting legacy for land which has been owned by Lafarge Tarmac for over 140 years.”

David Testa, Executive Director of LRCH said:

“With this agreement in place, the vision for North Kent as the home of a nationally significant, multi-billion pound entertainment resort employing thousands of people is moving closer to becoming a reality. It further underlies our commitment to delivering the project and is welcome news as we continue to consult and engage with the local Dartford and Gravesham communities living near the site and more widely with our interested parties.”

Two stages of public consultation have been held by LRCH to date, involving over 4,000 members of the Kent community. Two further stages of consultation are planned to help inform the emerging plans for the resort, prior to the submission of a draft Development Consent Order to the Planning Inspectorate in autumn 2015.
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:)
 
It's good to hear that these things are happening. Should keep the project ticking over until the big planning application this year...
 
London Paramount is a large development on and around land with environmental significance. As with many developments of varying scales it required an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). These predict the environmental effects of a development, positive or negative.

London Paramount have produced an "Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Report" in preparation for the final EIA. The Secretary of State has subsequently produced a "Scoping Opinion Report" which is a response to this to help guide and final EIA. The Opinion Report also contains the responses of various bodies/councils/organisations to whom an EIA is relevant.

Anyway, I have been through both of these documents to pull out some points that are likely to be of interest to us theme park enthusiasts.

Let's start with this quote from London Resort Company Holdings: "Within the leisure and tourism industry the UK lacks a major world-class leisure and visitor attraction of this type". Pretty damning of anything Merlin have tried to do with Towers. Clearly London Paramount is on a vastly different scale.

Until now we have had no real word on funding or investment. This report confirms that they have the support of international investors. So no need to worry there!

A number of factors influenced the decision of the Swanscombe Peninsula site for London Paramount. Many other locations were considered also. The criteria used included:
  • Sites of sufficient size and topography to accommodate the scale of facilities required
    in the desired layout (minimum site size of approximately 80 hectares with additional
    areas for expansion);
  • Locations free from vexatious and abnormal planning constraints and jurisdictions;
  • Sites in accessible locations;
  • Locations that would support the London Paramount brand (i.e. close proximity to
    London);
  • Locations where there are an absence of hotel and leisure uses that would compete
    with the entertainment resort;
  • Sites where access improvements and utility infrastructure investment could be
    achieved in reasonable timescales and potentially in combination with other nearby
    projects;
  • Sites in close proximity to public transport links and major airports;
  • Locations that have an acceptable micro climate (i.e. conducive to year round use);
  • Locations where it would be possible to provide new or upgraded off‐site access and
    utility works; and
  • Locations where land was available, that could be purchased at commercially
    acceptable terms and there was unlikely to be conflicts with existing users.
They are estimating that 30% of visitors will be from overseas - this would equate to around 16,000 per day. However they anticipate that many of these people would already be visiting the UK and staying in the region.

Now some interesting information regarding heights of things in the park. The report the following likely maximum heights for various objects:
  • Buildings - 32m
  • Structures - 50-60m (the report states: "eg. themed mountain"!!)
  • Rides/rollercoasters - 40m
  • Hotels: 40-50m
So it looks like the iconic Paramount mountain could be built as a centrepiece to the park, it's at least been considered. 40m for coasters equates to 131ft, identical to the height of Wodan to give you some idea. So don't go expecting any massive coasters!

The good news is that the Civil Aviation Authority have no issue with any of these maximum heights; nothing would be an aviation en-route obstruction for civil aviation purposes.

However the Port of London Authority do potentially have a few issues surrounding sight-lines, microwave interference and the location of their radar and data communications facility. No doubt these issues will be resolved though.

A final couple of things regarding the park itself. The report states that "Entertainment Street" will be at the heart of the core area. Here there will be a wide range of indoor and open-air experience. To me this sounds like it could be a Disney Village style central hub to the resort.

Then some information regarding entertainment. There are plans are a parade every day in the late afternoon: "Paramount and Friends Carnival". This would be followed by an evening show with a cast of over 300 people celebrating aspects of Paramount studios and other brands.

I hope you found that interesting and somewhat insightful. If there is one thing I can say it is that this is 100% happening, you need not have doubts!

:)
 
Rob said:
I hope you found that interesting and somewhat insightful. If there is one thing I can say it is that this is 100% happening, you need not have doubts!

:)
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You're either on the payroll here, or at LRCH :D

Great points picked out though!

Disappointment 1 though, coaster height restriction. Surely we have enough parks with coaster height restrictions, I'd hoped this would be evaded with this development.

Seems obvious now why it wont be.
 
I wouldn't go as far as saying they are restricted, they have chosen a site where heigh is not a massive issue. Obviously we are not going to get a 400ft Kingda Ka clone but I do not see why in the future a coaster up to and possibly slightly above 60m (around 200ft) could not be added. I think right now it is more that they do not plan to open with any coasters over 40m.

:)
 
Regarding the funding of this park which until now has been one of the vaguest aspects - this month's Parkworld magazine (as linked to by Maelstrom in the Paultons topic, page 14) reveals that funding is coming from 'Kuwait European Holding Co'.

Almost inevitable for a project of this size to be funded by a Middle East sovereign fund, but at least it's getting more and more likely to happen.

Edit: maybe I missed it as this has apparently been reported since May 2014.
 
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Always think it's very kind of them to reinvest from the extortion that is oil prices.
 
Wow nice work Rob!!

Makes for a very interesting read :)

I imagine the 40m coaster height may well be so there's leverage for the future. If you go in at a low starting point then there might room for negotiation going forward... "The guests love our 131ft wooden coaster but research suggests they'd go wild for a 200ft B&M hyper!"

I can't wait for this to be my local park :D
 
Sazzle said:
Wow nice work Rob!!

Makes for a very interesting read :)

I imagine the 40m coaster height may well be so there's leverage for the future. If you go in at a low starting point then there might room for negotiation going forward... "The guests love our 131ft wooden coaster but research suggests they'd go wild for a 200ft B&M hyper!"

I can't wait for this to be my local park :D
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I take your point but whilst you have a Tory government, who want to relax planning, love money, I'd say you'd never have a better chance than now to go in hard and work backwards.

That being said, given who's involved in this project, they probably know a little more than I do.... maybe :D
 
Here is a map outlining the area of the that Lafarge Tarmac have agreed to sell to LRCH (subject to planning permission being granted):

10387395_702561296509667_4889815367219784155_n.jpg


I believe they still need to acquire the rest of the land from another company but I can't imagine that will be too much of a problem at this stage.

Also, something I forgot to mention in my post yesterday. The report states the following regarding construction and operating periods of the park:
  • Construction period: January 2017 - December 2019
  • Operating period: 25 years from 2020 (i.e. until 2045)
There are also brief mentions of decommissioning and demolition of the project after the operating period. I found this somewhat strange, however it could just be for planning purposes. In the final EIA they may want to present what would happen to the site from an environmental point of view if the project was decommissioned in the future; what, if any, changes are reversible etc.

:)
 
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